MOSCOW: The Russian rouble was flat on Wednesday as the market lacked major drivers, with fixed income investors awaiting the first weekly domestic treasury bonds sales after a two-week pause.
At 0810 GMT, the rouble was 0.1 percent stronger against the dollar at 66.24 and had lost 0.1 percent to trade at 75.42 versus the euro.
Oil prices dipped but with Brent, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, hovering above $45 a barrel, they remained supportive for the rouble.
"The 66.60 roubles (per dollar) level serves as a local resistance threshold and if it is crossed then that might lead to a weakening of the Russian currency," Alexander Yegorov, an analysts at TeleTrade brokerage, wrote in a note.
Russian share indexes were higher. Both the dollar-denominated RTS index and the rouble-based MICEX were up 0.6 percent, at 902 points and 1,896 points respectively.
Debt market investors were awaiting the Finance Ministry's first domestic treasury bonds auctions, later in the day, the first after a two-weak break due to holidays.
The ministry will offer 30 billion roubles worth of OFZ treasury bonds at two auctions.
"We expect good demand, which will be supported by more than 100 billion of OFZ redemptions today," Aton analysts wrote in a note.
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